Monday, November 23, 2009

A friend of mine posted a video on her blog titled "In The Spirit of Thanksgiving" where people on the streets of New York were asked one question: What are you thankful for?

The answers were great. You got the typical, health, family, job answers. And you got the religious answers. And you even got some funny answers, like Macaroni and Cheese, and Not being yelled at by a cabbie. I am not gonna post the message here, but I will leave you this link. Go check it out if you get a spare 5 minutes. It's great!

In the meantime, it's my turn to list all my many blessings that I find myself grateful for. Many of my friends have taken on a challenge to post on their Facebook status something they are thankful for every day through November. I chose not to do it as I have made it a bit of a tradition to post a blog list just before (or after) Thanksgiving day. Today seems as good a day as any so here I go!

In no particular order, I am thankful for:

My health. Though this pregnancy hasn't necessarily been a great experience, and though I have some aches and pains I haven't dealt with for either of my other pregnancies, I do have to appreciate that all in all, I have been healthy. I have (so far) been blessed to not get any flu bugs or nasty colds, or other such viruses. And for that, how can I NOT be grateful?

My husband. Joe is such an amazing man. I feel so privileged to have him in my life. He is such a sweet husband, and father. He loves his girls. And none of us girls doubt that love. He is genuine, he is caring, and he is extremely funny. He is such a help around the house. Especially when my energy is low from pregnancy. He cooks better than me, he cleans better than me, and he doesn't mind helping out. He is a fantastic father. He helps when the girls are sick, he can make them laugh and loves to cuddle on the couch with them. He is also a hotty...

Lilia. She is such a fantastic kid! She is smart, and beautiful, and funny. She has been out thinking me since she was three, and though it can be frustrating, it makes me proud to have such a smart kiddo. She is a fantastic big sister, and though she has the ability to be a bit overbearing, her sister adores her. She is growing up so fast, and becoming such a beautiful girl (as opposed to the adorable toddler she once was). She loves to dance, and sing, and tell jokes. She is always willing to help me when I am cooking (or baking) and has a knack for reading that I hope she continues to work on and grows to love. She has some perfectly awesome 5 year old common sense, and frequently has me giggling at her insights. She is so much fun to talk to, and I am thankful she is my big girl.

Lacey. She is so very different from her sister. She is tough, and quiet, and so very cute! Anyone who is a parent knows how dangerous it is when the kids are out of your line of vision and being quiet. Problem is, Lacey is ALWAYS quiet. I can never tell if she is up to something naughty, because she is just as quiet then as she is when she is behaving. She is perfectly content to be left alone to do her own thing (for good and bad). She is a tough little cookie, and though she gets sick easier than her sister, she is a trouper and comes through each illness with flying colors. She is such a sweet girl. No matter how naughty she has been, if she looks at me with her big eyes and says, "Sowwy Momma." How can I not melt? She loves to sing as well, she is talking more and more and everything that comes out of her mouth makes us smile. Especially, "whatchadoin?" I feel very blessed to have the privilege of being her Momma, and love her hugs and kisses.

Matthew. Okay, so maybe it's a bit premature to for sure be naming him, but we do feel pretty confident that his name is Matthew. Though he isn't born yet, I am grateful for all the activity I can feel. He moves around so much that I can honestly say I have never had that scared feeling of wondering if everything is okay with him. I love this little guy already, and can hardly wait to meet him in 10 weeks.

The Gospel (and all it entails) . I am not so eloquent as some of my other friends at voicing my thoughts and feelings about my religious beliefs, but I will say this. I love the gospel for everything it offers me in my life. For the hope of the future, the knowledge of the past, the gift of today, and for the knowledge I have of Christ and HF. I love my church, I love my prophet, I love my Savior, and I love the scriptures. I know Christ died for me, and that because of him, and his sacrifice, I can not only be forgiven of all my indiscretions, but also that I can more easily overcome the feelings of anger toward those who have wronged me, and hurt me.

My family. My mother is one of my very best friends, and I cherish all her insight and wisdom. My brothers are good friends and great babysitters (hehe), and I love them dearly. My sisters, though we don't talk often, are great women, who deserve the best, and I love them both. The rest of my extended family is amazing, and close knit, and funny, and supportive. I look forward to seeing many of them over the next few months.

My in-laws. Though we have had our rough patches in the past, I do love them. They are wonderful, and supportive, and beautiful (inside and out). My father in law in particular holds a special place in my heart. He is such a sweet and amazing dad. Not just to Joe, but to me as well.

My friends. Not just my tried and true bestest friend ever (Ju). But the newer ones that I keep finding on life's path. For those friends who call to see if I need help with my sick kids. Who offer to pick something up at the store when I am in need and without a car, or bring me their maternity clothes when I realize (to my horror) that I have outgrown the ones I own. To friends who make me laugh and let me cry (hysterically) about my freakish fears and worries.

(Now on to some less serious ones)

The beautiful weather of late. It has been great to have a warmer Halloween, and only a light snow fall so far.

My house. As flawed as it is, it is still mine, and I am grateful that we have a house at all in this economy.

Joe's job. His job is a great blessing to us.

Warm blankets and hot chocolate.

Good movies. Especially the two we watched this weekend- Star Trek and New In Town. I recommend both to everyone.

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Oh wait- I meant Catch Up... guess I'm hungry again. But then again, when am I NOT hungry these days?

Things are well with my little troupe. Mostly.

Lacey is sick, though I am pretty sure it's just a stomach bug- NOT the dreaded "Piggly Wiggly." If I could get her to eat something life would be good...

So first up, me- last week. From the neck down... 28 weeks:

Yup- I'm only getting bigger... gotta love it. :S

Second, I FINALLY decided to take our Halloween pumpkin to the garbage can this week. Poor guy was aging pretty rapidly. Needless to say, Jack doesn't age well. I can't show you a before picture, but I will show you what he originally looked like (It's the pattern we used):

and now?

yeah... OLD Jack.

Another funny for ya- Lacey got caught playing in the bathroom the other day. What, might you ask, was she doing in the bathroom? Brushing her teeth. With DAD'S TOOTHBRUSH!

see the remorse on her face?

the reason this is worthy of a picture is because of this:

That would be Lilia with Daddy's toothbrush when she was around 18 months. Awesome! And can I tell you how grateful I am that both times, they spared MY toothbrush? :)

Now- on to some Ism's

Lilisms:

In the car the other evening, she was enthralled with all the cars driving toward us. She liked seeing all the different headlights coming toward us. But what intrigued her the most was the cars and trucks with an extra set of running lights. She kept giggling when she saw them. When I finally asked her what was so funny she said, "Look at that car, Mom. It has a car on top of it with it's lights on, too! That's just silly!"

Lilia really loves her daddy. Lot's. So much so, that she refuses to believe that Daddy may be exaggerating and/or flat out lying to her. Now, in Joe's defense, he hasn't ever been mean about it, just that he is a tease, and like every other adult in the world, uses common known phrases that kids don't quite understand. For example: She truly believes her daddy is 6 years old.Why? Because that's what he told her. Where as I told her my REAL age (my mistake- now she tells everyone who will listen). When we went to get the Swine Flu Vaccination last week she asked if Daddy was coming. I told her, "No, Daddy is too old. He doesn't fit the age requirement." She then looked completely startled and said, "But Daddy is 6! You are ___ and that is MUCH older than 6! If he is too old, you should be too!" I tried to tell her Daddy was teasing her and that he was really 3 years older than me, but after much thought she decided I was the liar and Daddy was telling her the truth. She then got really excited and said, "So does that mean next year I won't need the flu shot?!"

Another example. Same night as the car incident mentioned above, as we were driving to pick up Joe from work, she said, "Mom, did you know where I lived when I was zero like a baby?" I said, "Yeah, you lived in our old house in Layton." She responded, "No silly! I lived in the blue car with you and Daddy!" I was really puzzled until I told Joe and he laughed. Back when Lil was a baby we both worked and our daily commute was almost 2 hours 1 way and another 2 hours back. So Joe had told Lil that when she was a baby, because mommy worked too, that she lived in the car (because she spent 4 hours a day in the car)... No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't convince her that Daddy didn't REALLY mean that she lived in the car. Just that she spent a lot of time there. Gotta love it!

Laceyism:

Yesterday I had to take a trip to city center to work out some snags with a business licence issue. While standing at the abnormally high counter (It came up to my chest) filling out the proper paperwork, Lacey pushed a chair up next to me, stood on it and peeked over the top (all that could be seen over her was her head). The lady behind the counter said, "Hi! What's your name?"To which Lacey replied, "Lacey" and then the lady asked, "How old are you?" And Lace- with a completely straight face held up an open hand and said, "I'm 5." Seems she learned that response from listening to her sister. Either that or my two-year-old is trying to grow up WAY too fast.

Pamelagets to get three shots and a blood draw in the next 4 weeks. Can we say YAY (that, my dear friends, is sarcasm)!October 8 at 2:32pm

PamelaIs hoping for a date night on either Tuesday or Wednesday night (sans children)... anyone wanna join us? October 9 at 6:27pm

(Didn't happen- my sitter went into labor, and the other couple coming with us came down with H1N1)

Pamelawants to know if ANY of her friends are interested in taking an awesome relic off our hands. More specifically an original Nintendo (okay so it's a Japanese knock off, but it plays Nintendo games) plus, the duck hunt gun, the floor pad, and 31 games (including the original Super Mario Bros, and Zelda)... we do have the original Nintendo deck, but it's kinda touchy... October 10 at 8:40am

(Sold to the first commenter! Congrats CaliAnn and Brett)

PamelaIs pretty pathetic... I just watched Biggest Loser while ingesting more chocolate than I care to admit to...October 13 at 10:08pm

Pamelacan be such a dip... I just tried "saving" my spot in an ONLINE article by hanging a bookmark off the side of my keyboard before closing the laptop on top of it to deal with my kids... October 14 at 9:36am

PamelaList of things to do today: Go to an eye appt. Call my doc about breathing problems, look for flu shots/mist for my kids and the flu shots for me, call a man about 2 cows, visit Laura and Sarah, take Lil and her friend to dance class, and attend an Enrichment meeting. And in between all that I gotta make me some jewelry!October 15 at 8:02am

Pamelahit a nerve in her hand last night and lost the use of it for a good 4 hours before bed. It's still a bit achy, but at least I can type again! October 21 at 8:30am

(hmmm... just finished a rootbeer one, and still feeling like all is right with the world!)

Pamelais trying not to worry about the fact that the last three babies born in my neighborhood (all in the last week) were each 8 lbs or bigger... I am wondering if this is some kind of omen....October 23 at 9:25am

Pamelais trying to decide if she should go make sure her children are still breathing... They are both still sleeping- very unusual... wakeup time is usually 7 am... October 26 at 8:40am

(they woke up just as I hit send)

Pamelahas lower back pain. No fun. Looks like it's a good day to just CHILL on the couch and recoup from a busy weekend of nothingness. (I swear this weekend seemed so busy, but we didn't go anywhere... just stayed home with Sickie Lil and watched all 5 Harry Potters, plus some house cleaning and laundry)October 26 at 9:55am

Pamelajust caught up on the goings on of some of my friends, and now feels that even though things aren't perfect, I've got it pretty good right now. My prayers go out to those of you dealing with pains and difficulties!October 26 at 2:41pm

(hopefully things are better with my oh so awesome VFriends)

PamelaEh hem: IF ANYONE WANTS TO COME VISIT ME AFTER THIS BABY ARRIVES SOUTHWEST IS DOING A KILLER $25 FARE SPECIAL OFFER BETWEEN THE DATES OF JAN. 5 AND FEB. 10. BUT THE SALE IS ONLY GOING ON TIL THURSDAY AT 11:59pm... Just sayin'...October 27 at 9:03am

Pamelaloves the biggest loser but is getting REALLY tired of people throwing themselves under the bus! I am broken hearted about who went home tonight!October 27 at 10:08pm

PamelaLacey has decided that crying is the thing to do at nap time now. Do I ignore it and hope she sleeps or do I go cuddle with her and possibly cause a bad habit to form? Decisions... decisions...October 28 at 1:54pm

(Okay- not a real tough decision... I just hate listening to the crying)

PamelaLilia just informed me that "Pam is a mean mom, but Dora would be a nice mom" Good to know I compare so unfavorably to a cartoon character...October 28 at 4:06pm

PamelaSo, a couple weeks ago, my Uncle Carl passed away. He bore a striking resemblance to Santa, and played Santa at our family party every year. Now- what do I do about my 5 year old asking me "So, mom? What are we gonna do now that Santa is dead?"October 29 at 6:40pm

(Joe handled it magnificently... Lil is a happy camper again)

Pamelaspent half an hour working on Lil's costume and came back upstairs to a completely THRASHED front room. Can we say, "yay!"? :SOctober 30 at 12:17pm

Pamelahad her blood drawn today, and is surprised at the pain it is causing in her elbow... I actually had to change shirts (to something short sleeved) so the shirt wouldn't rub against the already forming bruise...November 2 at 11:26am

(the bruise is about 5 inches long... and it's been a week!)

Pamelawent all out... turned off both phones, hung my children sleeping sign, put on some warm sweats and took a nap with Lacey... EXACTLY what I needed after staying up WAY too late last night.November 2 at 3:23pm

(to clarify- I had been up for 3 hours already... kiddo #2 woke me up at 6)

PamelaLacey has eaten parts of her peanut butter sandwich to look like a phone receiver, and is currently talking into it. Awesome.November 6 at 12:48pm

PamelaThis hesitant momma has been schooled. Lacey took her diaper off this morning, sat on the potty, and then got off and refused to put a diaper back on. Looks like she really REALLY wants to be potty trained! Let the "fun" begin! :S Sun at 1:28pm

(False alarm... she just wanted to play with the toilet paper. Though I will be working with her on potty training.)

PamelaAACK! I made artichokes for dinner and am OUT OF MAYONNAISE! ::GASP:: I think I am gonna cry!Sun at 6:37pm

(As seen in my previous blog- it was a disaster, but I did buy mayo the next day and polish off the last artichoke for lunch. YUMMY!)

Sunday, November 8, 2009

So tonight's dinner was gonna be UBER fantastic! I was so looking forward to it. Okay- not totally true. The main dish was a last minute easy meal, it was my side dish I was so excited for. I made Costco's Orange Chicken with rice, and the main side was...artichokes!

I. LOVE. ARTICHOKES. Not kidding. I love them! And I don't don't DON'T like sharing mine. Joe and I were married nearly 9 years ago (wow!). When I bought artichokes for us one night for dinner, I was NOT thrilled when Joe made dinner, and only cooked ONE artichoke for us to share. Ummm... no. :) He has since learned... Also- in my family, we have ALWAYS served our artichokes with mayonnaise to dip it in. Now, I am not necessarily a HUGE mayo fan, but it is (in my opinion) the ONLY true way to enjoy a good artichoke.

Now- back to the story. As I was putting dinner on the table I went to the fridge to grab the mayo. It took me a minute to find it as it had been pushed to the back of the fridge (as I said, not a huge mayo fan). As I pulled it out, I noticed it was VERY lightweight. Sure enough I opened it up and there was just a tiny bit in the bottom. Dang! So I checked my pantry- nope- no mayo. CRAP! So I dish out what little mayo I had into three little bowls, and tell the kids to go easy on it (Joe eats his plain). We all took one bite of the artichoke with mayo on it and realized that the mayo was NOT GOOD. I mean, BAD... it smelled (according to Joe) like musty laundry. It tasted (according to me) exactly like I imagine sweaty gym socks would taste like.

CRAP- CRAPITY- CRAPUMS! Well, luckily my children are not nearly as picky as I am, so I pulled out the small jar of Miracle Whip I had on hand (I can not STAND Miracle Whip... it is only good for one thing. But that's a different story...). The kiddos and Joe were all quite happy with their artichokes, but this here pregnant lady was NOT gonna settle for that. I ate my main dish, and excused myself to my trusty laptop to Google a recipe for mayo. I found one that sounded fairly easy... AND I had all the ingredients! YAY! So I set to work making my own HOMEMADE mayonnaise! Um... yeah. It was a total flop. I know emulsions can be tricky... but I really screwed it up, so of course, I had to scrap it. :( If that's not bad enough, as I was rinsing off the bowl I used to make said mayo, I look over at the table, and Lilia had finished her artichoke and was HALFWAY THROUGH MINE! ACK! Oh no she di'int! I shooed her away from my precious, and sent her off to watch some Sesame Street with her little sister. At this point I had given up on the whole Mayo thing, and decided to TRY it with Miracle Whip... BAD idea. It was awful! (Keep in mind I am pregnant and when my body craves something, it isn't happy with substitutions...) . So I went with door #2. I dipped the rest of my artichoke in melted butter. It was OKAY, but not great. Now- if that's not bad enough, as I was cleaning my dishes (and Lacey's) off the table, I leaned across the table to grab something and my WHOLE BELLY landed right in the melted plate of butter! I have a mega grease stain on my shirt now! UGH! So, so, SO depressing!

(The good and only redeeming news here is that I do have one more uncooked artichoke which will be my lunch tomorrow after a trip to the grocery store!)

Wow- how sad is this? I totally just blogged about an artichoke! It must be the pregnancy... yeah- that's it...

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About Me

Nothing special here, except the over use of emoticons :S and ellipses...I have two adorable girls, and one handsome little boy. I really like our family. Not just our kids, but the whole darn family. Siblings, cousins, aunts, uncles, parents, grandparents... you name 'em, I like 'em.